DEITCH: Plenty of time left for Phillies to improve

Philadelphia Phillies' Chase Utley, right, is congratulated by Domonic Brown (9) after scoring on an RBI single by Delmon Young against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 12, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

They have been bad in one-run games, bad in blowouts. They were typically jaundiced in April, and only have slightly better coloring in May.

They still can’t hit young pitchers with limited track records and the slightest bit of potential. They have a bullpen that blows its inheritance of base runners like a Kardashian on a bender.

They have been morbid at home, just as they were last season. Then again, even through the sellout streak and all that “Phillies Nation” business, Citizens Bank Park never has been much of a major advantage for the Phils. Through nine-plus seasons at the new ballpark they have won exactly 15 more games at home than on the road, or less than two more home Ws per season.

They have gone oh-for-Ohio, and will host the Indians and Reds for five games this week, needing a sweep of the homestand just to even the score.

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Yes, the Phillies return to Philly tonight with an offense allergic to hitting home runs with runners on base, a Cy Young winner about to have his shoulder surgically explored, and a record that has yet to hit the .500 mark.

And one more thing: The Phillies aren’t in nearly as bad of shape as they could be.

They are 18-21 and trail the Braves by four games, the same Braves who opened the season 12-1 and seemed like they might bash everyone in the NL East into submission by June. The Dodgers and Angels spent obscenely in the offseason, and the L.A. teams entered Monday a combined 29-44 and 17 games out of the lead in their respective divisions. The Blue Jays smelled weakness in New York and Boston this winter, so they unloaded prospects and handsome amounts of money. They are 15-24, the only team in the AL East below .500.

The Phillies spent the winter in wait-and-see mode. Charlie Manuel didn’t get a contract extension or a free agent of renown. They signed a high-end set-up man coming off a mediocre season and a surgery that left him one rib lighter. Their outfield additions included a flyweight center fielder and a rotund right fielder; one swings like he’s wielding a wet noodle, the other a hot potato.

Anyone who thought Mike Adams, Ben Revere and/or Delmon Young were going to be game-changing players, you were a victim of your own fanciful mind. They weren’t supposed to be. No, the Phillies have been and remain a team built around the big names — Howard, Utley, Rollins, Lee, Halladay, Hamels. They are the Big Six, and one-quarter of the way through the season only Roy Halladay has fallen by the wayside. And frankly, Halladay was so miserably ineffective that any replacement is an improvement. The other five guys have been somewhere between mediocre and very good. More importantly, they have been healthy, which gives reason to think that at some point they all can get to very good status.

The Phillies scored a lackluster 25 runs in seven games during their completed West Coast trip. However, when they arrived in San Francisco, the Giants were leading their division, and when the Phillies left, the Giants were not. The same thing happened in Arizona.

The Phils won the best-of-seven against the National League West’s top two teams, four games to three. And buried within the signs of woe are signs of hope.

Yes, the Phillies’ last 14 home runs have been solo homers, but they have 15 homers in their last 15 games after hitting just 13 in their first 18. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Domonic Brown have a chance to combine for more than 90 homers between them. That’s encouraging.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has some decisions to make, and the Phillies have yet to push him down either the buy or sell path. He isn’t married to Revere or Young, at least financially. Freddy Galvis is proving to be more than just adequate as he gives the aged and ineffective days off at six different positions. Maybe Darin Ruf gets his shot soon. Perhaps one of those big-spending teams who belly-flopped when they wanted to make a splash this offseason will want to deal an established player or two.

At 18-21, four games out, the Phillies aren’t in odd territory. They were 19-20 after 39 games in 2007, when they reached the playoffs with Adam Eaton, a 44-year-old Jamie Moyer with a 5.01 ERA and a 22-year-old Kyle Kendrick in the rotation.